Bins with Brains
Aug 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By David Hest
New automated grain-monitoring systems reduce drying costs and storage risks
New automated grain-monitoring systems replace what is typically a seat-of-the-pants operation with solid science that takes the guesswork out of managing stored grain.
Companies offering automated systems say the systems can reduce drying costs, lower the risk of grain going out of condition, minimize shrink and prevent spoilage. And because the systems are automated, they reduce the labor normally required to manage natural air drying and storage.
Reducing risk was at the top of the list for Karl and Dave Eshelman when they installed automated control and monitoring systems in four new 80,000-bu. bins on their operation near Galveston, IN.
“This system was bought as an insurance tool,” Karl says. “It is a lot of dollars to have piled up in one location and not be able to keep your eye on it.”
But the monitoring system, from Integris USA, has been a moneymaker, too. The system has boosted storage earnings because the Eshelmans now are comfortable holding the corn stored in the bins longer into the summer. Drying costs are lower, too.
“Normally, we'd haul 20% of our corn in the summer,” Karl says. “Now 80% is hauled in the summer time frame. The longer you keep grain stored, the more you earn from storage. We wouldn't have dared do that in the past. You can't afford to hold $4 corn and risk it going bad.
“I think the new large on-farm bins will require these systems,” he adds. “These bins are commercial-size. You will have to have a monitoring system for risk management. A banker will require it.”
The 95% need
By some estimates, less than 5% of on-farm grain storage has a fixed monitoring and control system in place. The trend to more and larger on-farm grain storage has system manufacturers salivating at the prospect for increased sales, but they remain cautious about how rapidly farmers will adopt these sophisticated systems.
“Traditionally, farmers have bought grain storage systems based on the cost per bushel,” says Todd Sears, president of Intelliair, which markets the BinManager automated storage monitoring and control system. “Our challenge is to educate the customer about the benefits of these systems, which add to the cost. Ten years ago I didn't think I would live long enough to see farmers use a computer to run a bin management program. Now, it's beginning to happen.”
Farmers need to think like managers of commercial grain storage systems, about 90% of which use monitoring and control systems, says David Crompton, president of Canada-based OPIsystems, parent company of Integris USA, whose top-end system is called IntegrisPro.
“Many farmers haven't made the brain shift,” he says. “There is no difference between large bins being built on farms and commercial bins, size-wise. Farmers are buying commercial-sized storage, but they are not putting management systems in. You can't apply the same principles you used with a 10,000-bu. bin.”
Eli Troyer, president of AgriDry, which markets the Bullseye Bin Monitor System, says he's noted an uptick in interest in monitoring systems in recent years as ethanol plants and other buyers have increasingly demanded consistent supplies of high-quality grain.
“Elevators have sometimes found that they cannot deliver the quality that ethanol plants require” because their customers haven't paid adequate attention to stored grain, he says. “We're selling more systems than we have ever sold.”
AgriDry, and stored grain management systems in general, received a boost in 2007 when Pioneer Hi-Bred began promoting grain quality and offering a discount on Bullseye systems through its Web-based MarketPoint grain buyer and seller program.
“The goal of the program is to help our customers to be more successful,” says Joe Foresman of Pioneer. “When they deliver high-quality grain to their buyer, they are in a good position to maximize their price.
“Experience ends up being a tough teacher,” he continues. “Whether it is that silent thief, shrinkage, or spoilage on the north side of the bin, it ends up costing you. If you are able to simplify the harvest and storage process so that you preserve grain quality, it will make you money in the long run.”
Automated system basics
Although the AgriDry, Integris and Intelliair automated grain management systems differ in many respects, they have several elements in common. All three hang multiple temperature and/or moisture sensors in the bin. Data from the sensors are funneled to a computerized controller installed on the outside of the bin. The controller uses a set of operating instructions built into its software (an algorithm) to evaluate internal bin conditions, as well as temperature and humidity data from an on-site weather station, to control fans and supplemental heat, if available.
All three systems also are able to transmit and store in-bin temperature and/or moisture and other data for viewing on an office computer or a smartphone. The systems also make it possible to change operating instructions to the controller from off-site locations via a computer and/or smartphone. The three companies also offer basic systems that centralize control and monitoring functions at the bin site.
The systems differ in several respects, however. Both Integris and Intelliair systems use digital sensors, which they claim are more accurate than analog sensors and allow virtually unlimited numbers of sensors to be daisy-chained on a two-wire feed, much like CANbus systems on tractors and farm implements. AgriDry uses traditional analog thermocouples in its system. This limits the number of sensors that can be deployed, although sensor numbers are high enough to effectively monitor grain drying and long-term storage, Troyer says.
The systems also use varying methods of transmitting data from the bin site. Depending on the system, cellular- or satellite-based modems, radios or combinations of these methods are used to transfer data via the Internet or directly to an office computer. Archiving and analysis features also vary across the systems.
AgriDry Bullseye Bin Monitor
The Bullseye Bin Monitor from AgriDry uses in-bin temperature data from up to 24 sensors, as well as temperature and humidity data from an on-site weather station, to control fans for natural air and heat-supplemented drying, as well as long-term storage.
A typical system uses four thermocouple cables, each with six thermocouples spaced every 3 to 6 ft. (depending on bin height). Three of the thermocouple cables are placed around the bin perimeter, and the fourth is in the center. The company recommends a single six-thermocouple cable when using the company's grain spreader, which distributes fines and helps assure more uniform airflow through the grain mass.
The first cable includes a thermocouple placed 4 in. from the floor. The grain mass temperature from this sensor is compared to outdoor ambient temperature to determine whether the fan should be run or whether supplemental heat is needed.
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